As a rotating principal of New England Conservatory's Chamber Orchestra for the 2017-2018 school year, I am honored to participate in an open dialogue about music making with my colleagues for three hours three times a week. Although we generally have four weeks to prepare a program, there is an innate excitement and spontaneity in each performance that comes from an ensemble where the students are entirely in charge. Some of my favorite recent works have been Mozart's 40th Symphony, Stravisnky's Apollon Musagete and Joseph Suk's String Serenade.